Cheers,It's Friday Cocktail Hour...News,Prizes,Contests,and Bellini's!

Wow, this week has buzzed by and I'm no where near ready for my trip Saturday. I almost forgot about my little Friday Cocktail Hours. Today I decided to mix some bubbly stuff with some fabulous white peaches in my CSA box. I have an abundance of produce as its only me for the past week. As I was slicing my peaches for freezing, I thought of the Bellini! Perfect.First a few things before we toast.
I am horrible with the whole award /meme thing. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. I just may forget to pass it on or write about it because my time is spent trying to hit all your wonderful blogs between posting, living life, and taking care of Certain Someone.I will go through a little blog withdrawals next week, but that will be good. The wonderful Marye had passed along the Blogging with Purpose award to me a few weeks back. I love Marye and feel she's a real , down to earth ,caring, honest person who truly has a healthy handle on life. I look forward to her daily posts.

And Gabi kind of reminds me a little of myself for various reasons I have observed over the months.She's an awesome cake decorator. She awarded me the Yummy Blogs award.

So I cant even begin to think who to pass these on to because I love everyone I read. I really consider you virtual friends and all of you have a purpose and are Yummy. Or else why would I tune in? So these awards go to all of you. Feel free to pass them on.

I also won 2 prizes last week. I never win. First Andrea informed me that I won "Spain and the World Table by the Culinary Institute of America"! Then Bren is sending me some fantastic goodies from her recent trip from Trinidad Tobago Culinary Festival. I guessed the two ethnic groups and national dish of Trinidad Tobago. OK it took me two tries on the National dish. But I won some!

If your feeling a little competitive and want to score some free salmon, check this out from Marx Food:

Wild Alaskan Salmon is in season and MarxFoods.com is seeking out new and exciting recipes and applications. Please submit your favorite salmon recipe below by Friday, June 20, 2008. Salmon should be the star of the dish, but the recipe can incorporate any variety of salmon—fresh, frozen, smoked, canned, pickled, etc.
The creator of the winning recipe will receive three separate 5 lb. shipments of wild salmon fillets; one in July, August, and September, 2008, on the day of their choosing. Each shipment will contain a different type of wild salmon, varying by species and river origin.
The winning recipe will be judged by the MarxFoods.com staff on deliciousness and originality. Please only enter a recipe that can be created in a home (vs. professional) kitchen. Each contestant is limited to entering one recipe.
A winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 25.
TO ENTER
Submit your salmon recipe in the comment section below. Please include a recipe name or title. Stories are welcome and if you have an accompanying photo, please e-mail it to us and we’ll add it to your post.

Now onto the Bellini's!What better perfect summer cocktail than the Bellini! If you have fresh white peaches or frozen peach puree, give it a shot. Don't use yellow peaches. I was always under the mistaken impression that the alcohol base was Champagne. A true Bellini uses a Prosecco or other Italian dry sparkling wine. They were created and made famous at the famous Harry's bar in Venice. Cheers.

Bellini Serves 1

2 parts white peach puree(make your own if you can while you can get them this summer!)

4 parts Prosecco,or other sparkling wine, preferably Italian( although I could see a nice Spanish Cava being used in a pinch).

dash of cherry juice or grenadine optional.

Pour peach puree in a flute and top off with the sparkling wine.Sit back , relax,and take a deep breath.

And finally a interesting tidbit I got via email from a friend.Don't know if its true or not, but it's somewhat funny and food related.

WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER (the actual AP headline) Linda Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego, was visiting her in-laws, and while there she went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head. One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour. The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head. <>A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until someone noticed and came to her aid. Linda is a blonde and a Republican, but I'm certain that's irrelevant. Practice random acts of kindness!